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Punk duo frontman Bobby Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at Glastonbury and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Official Reactions

This vocal music pair sparked significant controversy when they initiated audience calls of "down with the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June set. The chant was censured by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the event, the band was dropped by its agency UTA, and the US government revoked the artists' travel documents, forcing them to call off a scheduled North American concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his initial interview since the Glastonbury performance, the musician, using his birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. After asked if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Absolutely. Like suppose I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the backlash the band encountered was "minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through."

On the Protest's Significance

"I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the chant," he continued. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have their support, they're the individuals that I'm doing it for, these are the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've angered some rightwing politician or some conservative news outlet?"

Unexpected Response and BBC Comments

This artist said he was taken aback by the outcry sparked by the exclamation, and asserted that members of BBC staff at Glastonbury told him on the day that the set was "excellent."

However, the broadcaster's ECU later found that the BBC's broadcast of the performance breached editorial guidelines in regard to harm and offence.

Vylan told Theroux there was no sign of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It's normal. Nobody thought anything. Nobody. Including staff at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

Vylan also responded at the Blur singer, who called the chant "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and characterized Vylan as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

Albarn's reaction was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," Vylan remarked.

"I just want to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' implies that in some way the politics of the band or our stance on Palestinian liberation is not thought out," he stated.

"I take great issue with the term 'marching' being used because it's only used around Nazi Germany," he added. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his response was appalling."

Intent Behind the Slogan

When asked what he meant by the chant "Death to the IDF," Vylan clarified the chant itself was "insignificant."

"What is important is the conditions that persist to allow that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that exist in Palestine. Where the local people are being slain at an disturbing rate. What matters about the slogan?" he said.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he added: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, right? … We are there to entertain. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal slogan."

Denial of Hate Speech Claims

The musician also denied assertions from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish community safety organisation, that their set led to a rise in anti-Jewish incidents reported later.

"I believe I have created an hostile environment for the Jewish people. If there were many individuals of people acting and going like 'We made me do this'. I could go, oof, I've had a negative effect here," he commented.

Comparison with Other Artists

As Vylan mentioned he felt the duo had been targeted more severely than different artists for speaking about the situation, Theroux brought up the Irish group Kneecap, who have likewise encountered backlash for their approach to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's a notable point," Vylan said, "because as with everything race comes to play a part in that we are an more convenient villain, seriously, than they are because we are already the enemy."